Phoenix.BloggersPub

That’s right fans, the Arizona Cardinals announced yesterday that they were releasing last of the old school football players, P Scott Player, after a 9 year stint with the club. Was it the bleaching of the facial hair that did him in? Or was it the old school football helmet he would always […]

OK, so maybe everyone really is a DJ. I stumbled across this remix of Cold War Kids’ Hang Me Up to Dry while just trolling around the Internet for nothing in particular. Ingo Star Cruiser? Never heard of him … her … them?
Well, his name is Pete Ingo. He’s from London. He has a […]

This time of year is always busy around Major League Baseball. The play-off picture begins to come into focus and the dog days of summer begin to fade into the drive to the post season. And while the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled as of late they still find themselves clinging to the lead in the National League Western Division or at the very least the lead in the National League Wild Card race. Not all of the buzz around baseball revolves around the players on the current 25-man roster.

According to eastvalleytribune.com Diamondbacks first baseman Tony Clark has not played since Sunday’s victory over the Cubs due to a concussion.
Now your first thought is probably “Did Tony get the concussion during the game Sunday?” well the answer is no. According to the article Clark suffered the concussion at home. When asked about […]

Two Phoenix Suns players are helping their respective national teams reach the 2008 Olympics, but it would appear that one of them is on the fast track, while the other is starting to struggle.

Amare Stoudemire (USA)
The Suns’ Amare Stoudemire is helping Team USA advance to the finals in the Las Vegas qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympics.  While not a starter, Amare is putting in solid minutes at Center and Power Forward for the US squad.

I’ve been trying to watch the games and Amare has been trying to display the skills he’s been working on during the summer (mostly his 3-pt shot - yes, 3-pt shot).  He’s been overly aggressive on defense and at times has allowed his man to beat him to the basket for an easy score.  Fortunately, the USA team is so strong, these mistakes really don’t matter and don’t show up in the box scores (all W’s so far).  When he rejoins the Suns in October, I only hope that he has a better handle on his defense and doesn’t allow his man to score so easily.  Orlando Magic stud Dwight Howard has been getting the starts for Team USA, so that should tell you something about Amare’s production.  No knock on Amare, but Howard’s rebounding and defense are better than STAT’s at this time; Amare’s offense is head & shoulders above Howard (however).

Leandro Barbosa (Brazil)
In what’s really a surprise around NBA circles, Suns’ 6th man Leandro Barbosa has emerged as the star of the Las Vegas Olympic qualifying.  Barbosa has led the tournament in scoring and was playing extremely well until he ran into the buzz-saw that is the USA squad.  Leandro struggled to score w/ the USA’s best defensive players hounding him all game.  In his follow-up game, they lost as well, but they did win Tuesday night’s game against Mexico.  In their latest game against the other (qualifying) favorite, Argentina, Brazil lost in overtime.

We can only assume that Leandro Barbosa will return to Suns camp in great shape and an even better player than when last year’s playoff debacle ended.  Things are looking great for Barbosa and the Suns.

Other Suns News
Raja Bell was suppose to play for the Virgin Islands, but his recent knee surgery kept him out of the tournament.  Phoenix guard Steve Nash was called upon by team Canada, but he declined to play.  There’s no doubt that Nash feels this is the Suns’ year to win the NBA championship and they’ll need all of his energy to get there.

Micah Owings (24, RHP, 6-7, 4.69)

Greg Maddux (41, RHP, 10-9, 3.90)

BaseballReference.com preview [opens in new window]

Much has been written about how Arizona pwns [sic] Greg Maddux, with a 10-1 record against him over the years. It is true that most of those responsible for the bulk of those wins are not longer playing, but Conor Jackson is 3-for-6, Stephen Drew 3-for-5, Orlando Hudson 3-for-7 and Eric Byrnes 5-for-12 against Maddux. Here’s to our recently offensive offense waking up, because otherwise, we’ll be ending the night looking alongside at San Diego, rather than down on them.

Our secret weapon is, of course, Micah Owings, though Maddux himself is a career .173 hitter, which is quite respectable. This promises to be a tough test for Pwnings, who has feasted on lesser mortals - his homers came against Buddy Carlyle, Sean Marshall and Byung-Hyun Kim - but has been less successful facing bigger names like Glavine and Penny. The key could be the strike-zone: Glavine is notorious for getting the benefit of every call, while Owings is still a rookie. If that proves to be the case again tonight, it could be tough, but we’re due a few breaks, after recent umpiring experiences. Fingers crossed. Should be here for most of it: getting a hair-cut first, but that shouldn’t take long.

Suns brass finally inked their 2nd round draft pick to a contract.  The 59th pick, during the 2nd round, D.J. Strawberry has signed a 2-year contract w/ the Phoenix Suns.  The contract will pay Strawberry only the league minimum (over $400k) and the 2nd year is an option for the Suns (not for Strawberry). 

This is a great move by the Suns since they’re not overcommitting for an unproven player.  Strawberry received a lot of praise for his summer league play, but how that will translate in the regular season is unknown. 

With this contract, the Suns leave the option open to move Strawberry or let him sign with another team if they have other plans at the end of this year.  Of course, all will depend on how they advance in the NBA Playoffs and whether or not they win the NBA championship.

We are all for supporting youth sports and the future athletes of America here at AZSH but we think it’s going a little far. According to Azcentral.com the City of Chandler will be throwing a parade for the Chandler National Little League team who was eliminated in the American Semi-finals of the Little League World […]

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
In what is thankfully the last of the preseason scrimmages ( as noted before I refuse to call these joke contests games) the Denver Bronco’s back up’s will be playing the Arizona Cardinal’s second and third string in a contest of who can stay healthy or fight to be the last guy kept […]

Two Phoenix Suns players are helping their respective national teams reach the 2008 Olympics, but it would appear that one of them is on the fast track, while the other is starting to struggle.

Amare Stoudemire (USA)
The Suns’ Amare Stoudemire is helping Team USA advance to the finals in the Las Vegas qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympics.  While not a starter, Amare is putting in solid minutes at Center and Power Forward for the US squad.

I’ve been trying to watch the games and Amare has been trying to display the skills he’s been working on during the summer (mostly his 3-pt shot - yes, 3-pt shot).  He’s been overly aggressive on defense and at times has allowed his man to beat him to the basket for an easy score.  Fortunately, the USA team is so strong, these mistakes really don’t matter and don’t show up in the box scores (all W’s so far).  When he rejoins the Suns in October, I only hope that he has a better handle on his defense and doesn’t allow his man to score so easily.  Orlando Magic stud Dwight Howard has been getting the starts for Team USA, so that should tell you something about Amare’s production.  No knock on Amare, but Howard’s rebounding and defense are better than STAT’s at this time; Amare’s offense is head & shoulders above Howard (however).

Leandro Barbosa (Brazil)
In what’s really a surprise around NBA circles, Suns’ 6th man Leandro Barbosa has emerged as the star of the Las Vegas Olympic qualifying.  Barbosa has led the tournament in scoring and was playing extremely well until he ran into the buzz-saw that is the USA squad.  Leandro struggled to score w/ the USA’s best defensive players hounding him all game.  In his follow-up game, they lost as well, but they did win Tuesday night’s game against Mexico.  In their latest game against the other (qualifying) favorite, Argentina, Brazil lost in overtime.

We can only assume that Leandro Barbosa will return to Suns camp in great shape and an even better player than when last year’s playoff debacle ended.  Things are looking great for Barbosa and the Suns.

Other Suns News
Raja Bell was suppose to play for the Virgin Islands, but his recent knee surgery kept him out of the tournament.  Phoenix guard Steve Nash was called upon by team Canada, but he declined to play.  There’s no doubt that Nash feels this is the Suns’ year to win the NBA championship and they’ll need all of his energy to get there.