From head ostrich David Stern.

“And if someone wants to try me in the rest of this playoffs, you know, make my day. Because the game is too important and I don’t think that the people who trash it are respecting it, and we’ll do what we have to do — the players and coaches alike — because they give the impression to our fans that the referees somehow have an agenda.”

Well articulated Mr. Stern, but unfortunately wrong. There is a reason fans and players alike complain constantly about the refs: It's because you have a rulebook that is constantly enforced in an arbitrary manner, with little to no recourse for the aggrieved party to do anything other than, basically, shut up and take it. I find your reasoning flawed, and because I am both merciless and brilliant, I will deconstruct your arguments utterly.

1. It harms the reputation of the company/product

So, by this logic, if Taco Bell were selling salmonella laced tacos(and, based on my reaction to their food last time I ate it, it may be) customers should just shut up and eat it anyway. Shouldn't customers demand a quality product for their money? Shouldn't you, as head of said company, do everything in your power to improve your product in any way possible?

2. The hired help should just be quiet, because they make a lot of money.

Again, this makes no sense. Because your employees are well paid, they shouldn't complain about the rules and/or the spotty enforcement of them? If there was a rule that said no one is allowed to punch me in the face at work, but it was only enforced based on who was there that day, and who it was that punched me in the face, my face would be very swollen, and also I would be complaining to anyone that would listen. People who point out flaws within their workplace are to be commended, not further punished. As CEO of a very successful business, it should be imperative that you make your employees workplace as enjoyable as possible, and that includes remedying any misinterpretations of the rules.

There's more I could write, but this sums everything up to my liking. If you, Mr. Stern, like the billions in revenue from us devoted fans, maybe you could treat us and your employees like we matter, rather than like 12 year olds crying over spilled milk.

Update: Stern spews more authoritarian nonsense. God, this guy is a smug jerk. "Coaches need to comply with the rules" As opposed to him actually looking at the rules and seeing if the complaints have any validity.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiAgaBeNG4DbDvtU_uKgVfC8vLYF?slug=ap-stern-officiating

Hello everyone. I have been trolling visiting this site for some time now, and in my rudeness, failed to properly introduce myself. I am a Phoenix Suns fan, but the Magic organization has more than earned my respect. This site is also very well-run, and everyone I have conversed with has been very civil, which in my experience is rare for a site that covers pro sports. I'm excited to see what this upcoming season will bring, and how far these offseason moves will carry Orlando. This isn't much of an intro, but it's early, and the caffeine hasn't done it's job yet. Anyway, on behalf of myself and zombie Wilt Chamberlain, thank you for your time. Any questions, comments, non-sequiters, and inane blather are always welcome. Cuidate y gracias otra vez.

Just in case any Lakers/Kobe fans stumble in here and read this, here's a disclaimer: I am a sane/rational person, and as such, this is not an indictment of Kobe Bryant's talent, like most Kobe haters, it's his attitude and behavior I can't stand.

If you didn't watch the game last night you missed this fine display of sportsmanship from Mr. Bryant. (Click on the picture.)

via i43.tinypic.com

Or this from game 1:

via i541.photobucket.com

Again, there's no denying Kobe's greatness as a player, in my mind he's third only to MJ and Wilt as the greatest ever, but it's incidents like these that make me wonder how no one can see what a mediocre human being he is. Sportswriters and fans have been ragging on KG for being arrogant towards the competition, especially with the Celtics, but Kobe's behavior gets swept under all the mindless adoration of his talent. It sort of validates a quote from one of my favorite books, Animal Farm.

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

This is my two cents, thanks for taking the time to read and offer your opinion.

via dummidumbwit.files.wordpress.com

In the last week or so, I've noticed a definite drop-off in traffic around here. I realize that this season has been the epitome of horrible, but things could always be worse. There's always next season, the Suns will return to their former glory, if not in the immediate future, so I'm not going to let this kill my spirit. In order to lighten the mood, I've thought of a few things that are worse than this season.

1. Zombie apocalypse. (My irrational fear that I'm sharing with the rest of you.)
2. Nuclear holocaust.
3. A disease epidemic.
4. Ron Artest's jump shot.
5. Break dancing robots that catch on fire.
6. Having to look at Tony Parker's face for more than 30 seconds.
7. Having to look at anybody else on the Spurs for more than 30 seconds.
8. People with mono brows.
9. Disco or anything Disco related.
10. Lakers fans.

These are just a few of the things that I could think of at the moment. I had more, but they flew right out of my head. Feel free to add your own or just ignore this and continue being miserable. Go Suns!

In the ongoing debate on who has ruined this team, I have heard very few few voices on this site that give blame to all involved. There are two sides in this argument: those that blame management, and a smaller faction that blames the players. The point of this post is not to take one side or the other, I just want an answer to a simple question: why not both? Everyone on the team has made bad or shortsighted decisions, so why shouldn't they all be held accountable? What is really a complex issue has been broken down into a simple black/white issue, when from what I've seen, it's all shades of gray. On the one hand, there's Sarver/Kerr/Porter and even D'Antoni. 

• Robert Sarver-He has been notoriously cheap and has sold draft picks and gotten rid of players that have gone on to have productive careers elsewhere.
• Steve Kerr-Was at least in part blinded by his time with the Spurs and tried to turn the team into something it's not.
• Terry Porter-Had an inflexible manner that chafed on the players and divided the locker room. He demoralized the younger players and gave them little time or incentive to develop.
• Mike D'Antoni-Was also inflexible with his bench players and avoided confrontation with his star players, which resulted in the current resistance to change.

On the other hand you have the players, who despite their lip service about wanting to bring a championship to Phoenix, showed little desire to face their shortcomings and look for a solution that might have the best of both worlds. Instead they seemed to develop a persecution complex and lost interest in the game entirely. Other poor decisions include: Amare not wearing his goggles permanently, failing to integrate Shaq into the offense(which has admittedly improved), and falling apart in big games. I look forward to your comments and I would like to know why you hold one side more accountable than the other(if you do).

via www.e-forwards.com

Blame. It seems to be a popular word these days. Blame the refs, blame Steve Kerr, David Stern, the list goes on and on. At what point do you point the finger at the personnel on the floor and say: "you're not doing everything you can"? How long before they need to start shouldering their share of the responsibility? Porter is yesterday's news, and Kerr has given them back the freedom they felt they were lacking by promoting a disciple of the 7SOL school of thought. This whole season has been about avoiding blame and pointing fingers. Steve Nash should be in psychology textbooks under "passive-aggressive", unless of course you think he's trying to be the Gandhi of the NBA. Amare's "ask the captains" spiel was probably the most uncaring, indifferent thing I've ever heard anyone say. As far as actual game play goes, we have Matt Barnes, who plays like Reggie Miller if Reggie was playing after sustaining massive head trauma, Amare treats rebounding as a mild inconvenience, etc. These guys bitched and moaned until they got nearly everything they wanted, and now that they have it, I guess they need to find another scapegoat to justify everything bad that happens during the seson. Finding the correct people to blame is a simple look in the mirror away. Until they realize it, nothing will ever truly improve.

As usual,thank you for those who choose to read my posts. Questions, comments, angry diatribes, and even death threats as long as they're creative, are welcome.

Sounds simple enough right?

Here's a thought from our resident ringbearer, The Big Shaqtus: “However, it doesn’t matter what type of game we play. We’ve still got to make stops,” O’Neal added. “Offense has never been our problem. This team has always been a run-and-gun scoring team, but you don’t really win championships like that unless you can make stops. That’s been our problem. The last two games we’ve done OK, but this isn’t really a real test. The real test will come next week when we play the Lake Show.”

This quote goes somewhere in the "obvious" folder, but it all leads to 64 million dollar question: Would you rather have a fast paced team with mediocre defense and rebounding or a halfcourt team with horrible defense and rebounding?

In the end the result is the same, a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs( to a team that comes through defensively in the clutch. We've seen this strategy fail time and time again. Anyone who's watched the Suns play these past few seasons has to feel like we're watching Wile E. Coyote chase the roadrunner. After all this time it should be apparent their ACME Run And Gun Offense is just a defective product that will blow up in their face while the roadrunner runs right on by.

And for those of you who believe bad luck contributed to these years of playoff failure, I will grant you this: no team has won without some measure of luck. But luck is not going to make defensive rebounds fly into Amare's hands, luck will not keep Steve Nash from getting burned by a younger, faster point guard, luck will not cover blown defensive rotations. In the end, as the famous quote goes, "fortune favors the bold". This team can't sit on the fence anymore, are they going to man up and be bold, or just hope they get lucky?

It's true: sometimes there really isn't enough beer in the world. That was a borderline awful 3 point and dunk contest. I kept telling myself that it was going to be awful, that I should just find something else to do with my time, but apparently I enjoy sado-masochistic behavior. The three point "shootout" looked like the local JV team throwing up bricks, and the dunk contest was so unoriginal I think a little part of me died inside. I hadn't watched the ASW in about three years, and now I remember why. Any thoughts?

I'll start by saying this is my first blog of any sort ever, so I'll try to follow the great examples set by the others and make my point simple and short. This is a response to the post by Magenta that puts the blame squarely on us, the Suns fans. Here are my logical counterpoints to his argument:

1. That people do not perform well under pressure. True for most of us. However, these are highly paid professionals who are expected to perform at a top-notch level while under incredible amounts of pressure. They have the incentive to do so and we have the right to demand it from them.

2. Not settling for an inferior product does not make us bitter, cynical whiners. When you pay good money for something, you expect it to do what it says it will do.

3.We are putting an unfair amount of blame on Amare. Not really. When you say you want to be the man, to be the third member of the Kobe/Lebron group, you strive for that excellence night in and night out, you don't give wimpy, childish excuses for your mediocre performance.

4th and last. We haven't given up on our team. Criticism is not the same as turning you back. There are obvious problems with this team, and until these problems are addressed, or at least marginalized, we don't have to smile and pretend that we don't see these problems.

Thank you to any who waste their precious time reading this. All comments are welcome.