Subject: Cleveland Cavaliers

• CHARLES BARKLEY'S BASKETBALL SEMINARS

  December 2, 1992

• DO THE SUNS NEED KJ ANYMORE?

  December 16, 1992

• CONTENDERS NO MORE

  April 21, 1993

• TRUMPETING THE SUNS

  June 9, 1993

• TAKING NOTE OF THE SUNS

  November 24, 1993

• GO WEST, YOUNG PAY-PER-VIEWERLIVING BACK EAST HAS ITS DRAWBACKS, BUT PAYING TO WATCH YOUR NBA TEAM ON TV ISN'T ONE OF THEM

  May 4, 1995

• Pic Hits for the week

  January 11, 1996

• Pic Hits for the week

  February 1, 1996

• Flashes

  October 10, 1996

• Is Anybody Listening?

  Beyond Arizona, musicians rave about it, but the Phoenix Symphony, at 50, plays to half-empty houses at home. Can its new maestro, Hermann Michael, fill the seats?

  June 5, 1997

• This Week's Day-by–Day Picks

  October 30, 2003

• Hello, Cleveland!

  A pseudo-Michael Stipe shares what's on his MP3 player

  January 3, 2008

• Pray for a Miracle: Lakers at Suns Tonight

  We were listening to a sports-radio roundtable recently, and the panelists were picking their faves to win the NBA title. Boston again. Good bet. San Antonio. Yeah, but only if Manu Ginobli gets healthy and back to full speed. New Orleans. With Chris Paul in charge, check. Here’s where it gets weird. Two pundits picked Cleveland -- Cleveland! Even with King James at the helm, ain't gonna happen. But not one picked the Los Angeles Lakers. To us, they're the ultimate slam dunk.

  November 20, 2008

• Rocky Mountain High: Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns Saturday Night

  Ah, chemistry.  In the NBA, acquiring talent and getting your talent to properly combust are the real tricks of the trade. But what looks good on the drawing board -- like, say, the Denver Nuggets' pairing of body-modified human pinball machines Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson (see image below) -- more often makes you wanna rip your hair out by the roots. That's what happened in the Mile High City after the high-scoring Tattoo Twinkies stopped scoring so high and got smoked in the first

  December 19, 2008

• Merry Effen Xmas, Phoenix: San Antonio Edges the Suns With a Buzzer-Beater

  This year's Phoenix Suns are playing better than ever. They've looked good in the last six games. Unfortunately, they're 3-3 in those contests against (save for the New York Knicks) good teams. Turnovers have killed the Suns all season, and while they've gotten better at protecting the basketball lately, ham-handed botches are the main thing separating them from the NBA's elite. Their 16 turnovers last Saturday were good enough against the Denver Nuggets, who had 21. B

  December 26, 2008

• All the Young Dudes: Phoenix Suns vs. Indiana Pacers Tonight

  Though they've been hauling the boat anchor in the Eastern Conference's Central Division all year, the Indiana Pacers -- including third-year superstar-in-the-making Danny Granger (pictured above) -- aren't your prototypical NBA doormat. Another year (two, max) and Indiana Coach Jim O'Brien should have these young guns challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons for Central Division supremacy (especially if the Cavs' LeBron James jumps ship to the Knicks in 2010, as he's u

  January 7, 2009

• Suns Redeem Themselves vs. Atlanta After Stinking Against Charlotte

  The Phoenix Suns longest road trip of the year was a disaster -- until the Big Three (no, not those Big Three) found a way to win against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. We're talking about Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Shaquille O'Neal. Nash played so brilliantly against the Hawks that we'll forgive him his six turnovers (the team had 19). After all, he'd been suffering from his chronically bad back for the past three games. Nash made great passes all game long and wound

  January 26, 2009

• The Pistons and The Palace Await the Struggling Suns on Sunday, After Tonight's Rematch With Golden State

  Home of the Pistons: The Palace at Auburn Hills For Phoenix Suns fans, there have been some stomachache-inducing moments this season. The disheartening blowouts in Boston and Charlotte. The heartbreaker on Christmas Day against San Antonio. However, the team's official fall into bottomless pit of apathy occurred at the conclusion of the first quarter during Wednesday night's game in Oakland. Scoreboard: Golden State Warriors 43, Phoenix Suns 30. Seriously, guys? Forty-three points yielded in

  February 6, 2009

• Will the Suns Turn the So-So Sixers Into a Beast From the East Tonight?

  Andre Iguodala ain't Dr. J, but he gets by. The Philadelphia 76ers are mediocre, with a dollop of turmoil. Former head coach Maurice Cheeks, one of the franchise's all-time greats, got the bum's rush back in December. Their marquee name, Elton Brand, is out for the rest of the season with a bad wing. Their top active player is shooting guard Andre Iguodala, who shoots sub-50 percent from two-point range, under 30 percent from three. The rest of their lineup is fleshed out by the unintimi

  February 9, 2009

• How Much Garbage Time Can We Stand? Phoenix Suns Get Blown Out by Philly

  We knew to expect the worst when Suns broadcasters harped from the beginning of the game that the team got into Philadelphia at past 2 a.m. Monday after their victory over the  Pistons in Detroit Sunday night You know, the old back-to-back road games bugaboo. And when they mentioned that the 76ers were "well rested" after five home games in a row and two days' rest, the stage was set... For the Suns to suck -- that is, put out zilch energy in Monday eveni

  February 10, 2009

• As Good As It Gets: Phoenix Suns Face King James and his Cleveland Cavaliers Tonight

  Coming to a big screen near you: LeBron James (center in white) and the Cleveland Cavaliers At first, this blog was going to chronicle the sudden resurgence of the Phoenix Suns, who instilled a little hope with a modest two-game winning streak (hey, they gotta start somewhere) that included an impressive performance against the Detroit Pistons in The Palace. But then Phoenix choked hardcore in Philly Monday night, looking like the, well, very average team that they seem to have officially beco

  February 11, 2009

• The Lowdown on All-Star Weekend's Biggest Parties

  Nelly will attempt to fill Chris Brown's shoes during this weekend's All-Star festivities. The Valley's about to get a little "derrty." Universal Records rapper Nelly is doing the Nix's hip-hop fans a solid by filling in at the two gigs that Chris Brown abandoned eartlier this week due to the recent legal problem's the R&B singer has become embroiled in. As a result, tomorrow night's party at the Corona Ranch in Laveen and Saturday night's shindig at Club Rain (both of which were scheduled

  February 13, 2009

• 2009 NBA All-Star Game: Defense (For a Change), Jumpshots, and Forced Drama

  Kobe and Shaq are once again BFF. Awwww. The only thing the sports media love more than a good feud is a half-assed gesture to end it under meaningless circumstances. So it was that Kobe and Shaq were forced to awkwardly hoist a trophy together at the 2009 NBA All-Star game, just as they did back when they were three-time champions together, long before Shaq dissed Kobe in every medium available, including a famous freestyle in which the big man repeatedly rapped, "Kobe, tell me how my as

  February 16, 2009

• Breakneck Mountain: Phoenix Suns to Revive the Seven-and-Shoot Tonight Against Clippers Tuesday and Wednesday

  This just in from Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr: Oops. Our bad. Terry Porter, we hardly knew ye. Here's a sack full of cash to salve your wounds. Amar'e -- ha ha. Those trade rumors? We were just kidding. Ya know we love ya, ya big lug. The rest of you guys, run like hell. Well, except you, J-Rich. (Shooting guard Jason Richardson, still paying penance for a pre-Christmas DUI, needs to slow waaaaaay down after being arrested in Scottsdale for doing 90 in a 35 z

  February 17, 2009

• Amar'e Stoudemire Scores 42 in Phoenix Suns' Second-Night-in-a-Row Rout of Clippers

  The once-again run-and-gun Phoenix Suns looked great again Wednesday night, scoring 140 points or more for the second game in a row against the dog-ass Los Angeles Clippers. This time, the score was 142-119, and supposedly on-the-trading-block Amar'e Stoudemire scored 42 points of that and pulled down 11 rebounds. We think we even saw him play a little defense. It was as if Stoudemire were saying to owner Robert Sarver and GM Steve Kerr, "You better not trade me!" In any case, we'll fi

  February 19, 2009

• Okay, Stoudemire's Staying With the Phoenix Suns, and so's Shaq -- at Least for the Remainder of the Season

  The NBA trade deadline passed at 1 p.m. today with no Phoenix Suns players moved -- not even Amar'e Stoudemire (whose departure seemed all but a done deal last week). Suns brass had been admitting for a month that they were entertaining trade offers for every member of the team except Steve Nash. There was huge interest in Stoudemire, but not much interest in giving the Suns enough in return for one of the top power forwards in the game. Either nobody offered up what Sun

  February 19, 2009

• Apocalypse Diaw: Phoenix Suns Host Boris, Charlotte Bobcats Tonight

  www.nba.com Boris Diaw ain't all that. Last Thursday, in one blink of Amar'e Stoudemire's bum eye, the Phoenix Suns' playoff chances took a sucker punch to the gut. Most people's first thought: "Oh. Crap." Most people's second thought: "Oh. Crap. We traded away Boris Diaw." Our second thought: "Oh. Crap. Most people are gonna say we shouldn't have traded away Boris Diaw." Sure enough, last Friday's local sports-radio airwaves were a-buzz with revisionist invective from fans who thought

  February 24, 2009

• Shaq Has His Biggest Weekend Since He was With L.A., as the Phoenix Suns Crush Toronto and Beat the Lakers

  Shaq played like he was this kid's age over the weekend.What a weekend for Planet Orange, and its largest inhabitant! We're beginning to think of the Phoenix Suns as a planet again, after back-to-back victories against the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers at US Airways Center Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Shaquille O'Neal's certainly big enough to be Jupiter, and his performances over the weekend were cosmic. On Friday night, he had his best game as a Su

  March 2, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Continue Skid, Losing to D. Wade and the Miami Heat, 135-129

  allposters.com Those were the days, my friend. Shaq and D. Wade after their 2006 NBA titleTwo of Shaquille O'Neal's old teams on the road in two nights. Two losses. Tuesday night, it was to the Orlando Magic, and Wednesday it was to Dwayne Wade, Shaq's brother in arms in the 2006 NBA championship, and the Miami Heat. It wasn't Shaq's fault that the Phoenix Suns lost to the Heat by 6 points, dropping even deeper into ninth place in the Western Conference playoff race. He had 22

  March 5, 2009

• Player Hater: Phoenix Suns Need to Channel Shaq's Aggro to Win on the Road This Weekend

  www.nba.com As the saying goes, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Well, considering the current tongue-lashing dished out by Shaquille O'Neal at Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, the hate is all-encompassing for the Suns' big man. The triggering episode occurred Tuesday night in Orlando during Phoenix's 111-99 loss. During the game, Magic center Dwight Howard elbowed Shaq in the chest. The Suns center flopped worse than his 1998 album Respect. Van Gundy, who coached O'Neal for a

  March 6, 2009

• Math Test: Phoenix Suns Face Must-Win Game Against Dallas Mavericks Tonight

  www.nba.com Dirk Nowitzki: Could another choke job be forthcoming? By the time a must-win game for the Phoenix Suns rolls around, we're usually breaking out the sunscreen and decorating the Maypole. This year, desperation's come early. In the race for the Western Conference playoffs, the Suns sit in ninth place in an eight-team sprint following their disastrous 0-4 road swing through Orlando, Miami, Houston, and San Antonio. The team in eighth, the Dallas Mavericks, leads the Suns by fo

  March 10, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Have Only a Slim Chance of Making the Playoffs, after Eating a Dirk Sandwich Against Dallas

  Nowitzki and the Mavs aren't the best show in the NBA anymore, but he's still a Suns killer.Shaquille O'Neal scored 21 points against the Dallas Mavericks to go ahead of Elvin Hayes for sixth on the NBA career scoring list (he needs 88 points to best the next guy on the list, Moses Malone). Matt Barnes also had 21 points, and Steve Nash had 23 and 13 assists. All the Suns' starters and Leandro Barbosa, off the bench, were in double-figures. Now you've gotten

  March 11, 2009

• Supermen of La Mancha: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, Mo Williams Visit Phoenix Suns Tonight

  www.nba.com Mo Williams: Finally, a worthy sidekick for LeBron. Following the Phoenix Suns' figurative demise in their do-or-die game versus the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the dudes in orange have about as much chance of making the playoffs as did Don Quixote of slaying a windmill. But that doesn't mean the end of championship-caliber NBA hoops at US Airways Center quite yet, as the Cleveland Cavaliers and their superman of La Mancha, LeBron James, visit the PHX tonight. You'd b

  March 12, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Can Possibly Enjoy Some Fun Times for a Change in Cupcake City This Weekend

  www.nba.comNenad Krstic of the Oklahoma City Thunder What do the Phoenix Suns have left to play for, following their epic, disheartening, and potentially playoff killing losing streak? If the Suns catch fire and the Mavs majorly choke, perhaps a postseason berth, a not-impossible-but-improbable scenario. Or what about pride? Naw, this isn't college ball, so all that hokey stuff about pride doesn't apply. So how about this? Specifically, some ass-kicking, scoreboard-lighting fun like we saw w

  March 13, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Break Six-Game Losing Streak, With (You Guessed it) Wins Over Two Teams With Losing Records

  www.daylife.com Ex-Warriors Jason Richardson and Matt Barnes light up their old coach.Over the weekend, the Phoenix Suns did what they do best -- beat bad teams. The score was 106-95 against the 18-48 Oklahoma City Thunder at US Airways Center on Saturday night and a running-and-gunning 154-130 against the 23-43 Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Sunday night. In the six games before that, they also did what they do best -- lose to good teams. But, on Sunda

  March 16, 2009

• Mo Better

  March 12, 2009

• All-Star Schedule

  February 12, 2009

• On the Eve of the NBA All-Star Game, Phoenix Suns Players Show Off Their Tattoo Canvases

  February 12, 2009

• Steve Kerr's been beating the odds his whole life

  April 24, 2008

• Valley of the Suns

  The Barkley-dominated Suns had a stranglehold on us. Team Nash is better. Let's go crazy!

  May 5, 2005

• Jerry's World

  Jerry Colangelo and his pals have gobbled up the lion’s share of public development dollars. If downtown’s to be saved, City Hall’s got to share the wealth.

  October 16, 2003

• DON'T BLINK

  February 3, 1993

• End Game: Phoenix Suns Face an Offseason of Discontent

  www.nba.com Many will go. Grant Hill will return. We hope. A mere week into the new season, the Arizona Diamondbacks' top pitcher is on the disabled list with a sore wing and the D-Backs couldn't hit a slow-pitch grapefruit with a two-by-four. You think they've got problems? This year's star-crossed campaign for Your Phoenix Suns mercifully comes to an end sometime after 9:30 tonight when the clock runs out on their 82nd game, versus the Golden State Warriors, and a season that began wit

  April 15, 2009

• Hot Links: Shaq Packs, Doc Prescribes, and Cows Burp

  ASU basketball player James Harden worked out for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Harden, the PAC-10 Player of the Year, is expected to be among the top five picks in tonight's NBA draft...the Phoenix Suns traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers the day before the draft. In exchange for Shaq, the Suns will get Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in the draft, and $500,000...Fire crews in Prescott battled a blaze allegedly caused by a truck driver accidentally p

  June 25, 2009

• The Big Cactus Becomes the Big Abandoned Steel Mill. Good for Cleveland, but It Leaves Us with Zilch

  www.nba.com O'Neal and King James reunited on the same team, this time for what the Cavs hope is a championship season.So what's Shaq gonna be called now that he's no longer the Big Cactus? Maybe the Big Abandoned Steel Mill or the Big Mistake By the Lake. Actually, O'Neal's trade looks good -- for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers! But what WTF did the Phoenix Suns get out of this? We'll tell you what: The deal saves owner Robert Sarver at least $10 million. What did Phoen

  June 25, 2009

• Michael Jackson’s Sedona “Murderess” Revealed

  July 2, 2009

• Steve Nash Agrees to Rich Contract Extension, but Why Do the Phoenix Suns Want to Keep the Aging Superstar at All Costs?

  Beats us why Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver would bend over frontwards to keep a point guard who's too old and slow to keep up defensively with practically any other starter at his position in the nba.com No way the two-time league MVP should be the Suns' top priority. National Basketball Association.   Come on, the Suns are in a rebuilding mode. From the looks of things so far, we predict they'll be only slightly more competitive next season than the Arizona Diamondbacks ha

  July 20, 2009

• Sheriff Shaq? Former Suns Big Man Applies To Be Deputized in Cleveland

  www.dimemag.com​Shaquille O'Neal, the "Big Shaquisition" as he is now being called by Cavs fans, is hoping to become a deputized police officer in Ohio as he was in Florida, Virginia, and of course, Arizona.After being traded from the Suns to the Cavs back in June, Shaq has applied to become a special deputy in Cleveland, a position that would allow him to carry a gun and make arrests.

  October 29, 2009

• The Streak's Over: Even Ex-Sun Matt Barnes Looked Like an All-Star in Phoenix's Blowout Road Loss to Magic

  NBA.com Dwight Howard doing his Superman impression at the All-Star Game.It was only a matter of time. Yeah, the Phoenix Suns were 4-0 going into last night's game with Superman and the Orlando Magic -- the man of steel being everybody's favorite basketball star nowadays, Dwight Howard. And Howard & Co. didn't disappoint their legion of fans, who believe their team has the deepest roster in the NBA this year and will win it all, though they certainly bummed us out. See, we

  November 5, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Top Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards in Weekend Wins. Next Up: Philadephia

  www.nba.comJason Richardson scored big against the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this weekend.​Going into their current five-game jaunt up and down the East Coast, the Phoenix Suns were expected to be butchered by such powerhouse teams as 2008 NBA champs Boston in a basketball bloodbath. Almost every wag in sports punditry and the blogosphere was predicting such a slaughter, especially after Steve Nash and his boys experienced a major meltdown against Orlando last week. As it

  November 9, 2009