Subject: Steve Nash

• NBA Commish David Stern: Jackass du jour...

  May 17, 2007

• Goat of the series? Suns point guard Steve Nash.

  May 21, 2007

• Don't let the Suns catch you crying

  April 29, 2008

• Steve Nash Booed: Phoenix Suns Lose to Two Mediocre Opponents Over the Weekend

  Two loses to two terrible-to-mediocre teams in the past two games. In fact, the Phoenix Suns are 2-2 against such opponents in the past four games. Did we mention that Amare Stoudemire got two technical fouls, the latter of which put him in the locker room and pretty much assured a Suns 117-109 loss to the 9-7 New Jersey Nets on Sunday night? That and 21 turnovers, one of which drew boos from the crowd at US Airways Center. The culprit: Steve Nash, the two-time NBA Most Valu

  December 1, 2008

• Phoenix Suns, Without Nash and O'Neal, Look Promising in a Road Loss to Talented New Orleans

  As bizzare as it may seem, we were thrilled by the Phoenix Suns' road loss to the New Orleans Hornets 104-91. Playing without Shaquille O'Neal (resting, as usual, on the first of back-to-back games) and Steve Nash (flu-like symptons), the Suns looked much better Wednesday night against a good team than they have -- with their future hall-of-famers --  against four awful-to-average teams. A starting lineup of Grant Hill (pictured scoring), Amare Stoudemire

  December 4, 2008

• Shaq Scores Four Points as Beaten-Down Suns get Beaten Up by Dallas

  Diesel, where the hell were you? Where's that team you bragged you'd hoist to an NBA  championship in Phoenix? Nowhere to be found in the Suns 112-97 road loss to mighty Dirk Nowitzki (pictured) and his Dallas Mavericks, that's where. Ain't gonna happen with the way you (and for that matter, most of the team) played Thursday night. Four points, Shaq? Five rebounds? What! And after sitting out Wednesday's loss to the New Orleans Hornets -- to rest. Well, i

  December 5, 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

• Shaq Leads the Way in Suns Victory Over Worst Team in NBA

    The Phoenix Suns played all but nine minutes of Monday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder without Steve Nash, and the team seemed to pick up steam after its floor leader went to the locker room with back spasms. Even if it was against the team with the worst record in the NBA, the Suns were solid on the road in their 110-102 victory. Shaquille O'Neal led the way with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks. He was 10 of 12 from the field and -- amazingly -- 8 of 12 from the fr

  December 30, 2008

• Weekend Wars: Not a Brick in Sight for Shaq as Suns Blow Out Rival Mavs and Beat Lowly Clippers

  The big news here's that the really big guy went 12 for 12 from the free-throw line in weekend wins against the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Shaquille O'Neal's been saying he's gone back to the basics his father taught him when he was a little boy of 6-9. Well, it's working. He was so good from the stripe in Friday's 128-100 home blowout over the Mavericks and in Sunday's 109-103 road victory against the Clippers that he could teach Steve Nas

  January 12, 2009

• Hot Links: Napolitano to Give Address on Eve of Departure from State; Meet Nash and Stoudemire today; Transportation Queen Mary Peters Coming Back to Arizona

  And the State of the State is -- I'm outta here! No doubt, Janet Napolitano won't keep her yearly address this brief, though her words will be drowned out by the zipping sound of her suitcases. The Cards' next home game is likely to be the rowdiest, loudest, happiest ever -- whether they win or not. Fans of basketball, meanwhile, get the chance to meet Phoenix Suns' modern legends Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash. And speaking of celebrities, transportation guru Mary Peters, former state roads d

  January 12, 2009

• Sure, the Suns Were Robbed, but Turnovers are What Really Killed 'Em in Denver

  Yeah, it was a terrible call. In the last seconds of regulation against Denver with the score tied 103-103, Grant Hill drove toward the basket and was tripped by Nuggets forward Dahntay Jones. Hill hit the hardwood. Tripped, and no call by head referee Dick Bavetta (pictured, the ref who famously raced Charles Barkley at the All-Star Game a couple of years ago and lost by a hair). Bavetta's in his 70s, and the word senile comes to mind. Or blind. How could he and his crew miss that? Ticked

  January 16, 2009

• Weekend Split Against Two Bad Teams: Suns Lose to Minnesota at Home and Beat Toronto on the Road

  Remember that February 9 beat-down win over the formidable Dallas Mavericks at US Airways Center? It was easy to believe that the Phoenix Suns had turned it all around after they toppled a top Western Conference opponent by 28 points, to hope (Barack Obama's favorite word) that they could contend for a championship this season -- after all. Then, what a mess! They were fortunate to win against the terrible Los Angeles Clippers and the decent Atl

  January 19, 2009

• Stoudemire Snags Just 4 Rebounds as Unraveling Suns Lose to Mediocre New York Knicks, 114-109

  Mike D'Antoni had the last laugh. His work-in-progress New York Knicks held on and beat the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden by five points. Mighty mite Nate Robinsion, in 25 minutes off the bench, demolished the Suns on Wednesday night. Seemed everything the 5-9 one-time NBA slam-dunk champion threw up went in. He wound up with 20 chest-pounding points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. The same number of rebounds that 6-10 Amar'e Stoudemire had. Pitiful. It must've been

  January 22, 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

• Tougher San Antonio Spurs Find a Way to Beat the Phoenix Suns -- Again

  This time, it wasn't a heartbreaking three at the buzzer that pushed the San Antonio Spurs past the Phoenix Suns. It wasn't a cheap-shot foul by a Spurs sub against a Suns star. It wasn't Suns turnovers killing any chance Steve Nash & Co. had of winning the game. It wasn't less-than-All-Star play by 2009 All-Star Game starting power forward Amar'e Stoudemire. It was just the Spurs doing what they do so well -- hanging tough when it counts. The final score was 11

  January 30, 2009

• As an Amar'e Stoudemire Trade Seems Imminent, the Phoenix Suns Mount Two Impressive Weekend Wins

  Amar'e Stoudemire's practically got his bags packed. And the rest of the Phoenix Suns -- save for  vererans Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, and Grant Hill -- had seemingly put up the white flag. Then... The Suns started looking like a playoff team again in the past two games against the Golden State Warriors and the Detroit Pistons.  It wasn't pretty in the first of two games with the 16-35 Warriors. The Suns were blown out in Oakland. But they came back Friday night

  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

• Good Riddance, NBA All-Star Weekend

  NBA All-Star Weekend made me loathe drinking in downtown Scottsdale this past weekend more than usual. Hanging out in Arizona's wanna-be L.A. conjured up bad memories of covering celeb-heavy and douchebag-filled Super Bowl parties last year for the East Valley Tribune. Here are three reasons why I'm excited to bid adieu to the hoopla:

  February 17, 2009

• Looking Like the Suns of Old After the Coaching Change, Phoenix Blows Out the Hapless L.A. Clippers

  It was a game in which Goran Dragic slam-dunked. Goran who? You know, the highly touted backup point guard whom fired Suns Coach Terry Porter used to ream a new one from the sidelines everytime he made a blunder. The Slovenian rookie (pictured) played with reckless abandon in the Suns' 140-100 rout of the hapless Los Angeles Clippers at US Airways Center Tuesday night. As did the rest of the Suns, who were laughing, high-fiving, and acting like a load of bric

  February 18, 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

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Suns Blow Out the Thunder and Get Dominated by the Celtics Over the Weekend

  The good, of course, were Rajon Rondo (pictured) and the mighty Boston Celtics, who came into US Airways Center Sunday Afternoon and took care of business, 128-108, against the Phoenix Suns. The bad were the Oklahoma City Thunder, who got dominated by the Suns here Friday night, 140-118, in Phoenix's third win in a row scoring 140 points or more. The ugly was Phoenix's defense in both games. When you give up at least 118 points on your home court, you're not playing enou

  February 23, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Hold Off Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and the Charlotte Hornets 112-102

  There were hugs all around, before Tuesday night's game got started and after the final buzzer. Raja Bell and Boris Diaw seemed happy to be back home in Phoenix, even if they are now starters for head coach Larry Brown's Charlotte Bobcats. So much so that they were the high scorers in the game: Bell had 23 points and Diaw had 27 and 10 rebounds. There were times when we thought their passion might allow the 22-35 Bobcats to overtake the 32-24 Suns and win at US Airways C

  February 25, 2009

• Beat L.A.: Potential First-Round NBA Playoff Preview Tonight at Staples Center

  www.nba.comKobe Bryant With a 4-1 record in the Alvin Gentry era, the Phoenix Suns are winning the games they're supposed to win. However, they're still faltering against the NBA's elite, evident by Sunday's ass-whopping against the defending champion Boston Celtics. But that's ok. The reason Terry Porter was run out of this joint is because his team played uninspired ball against crap teams like the Warriors and the Knicks. On the other hand, nobody cares a whole lot when you have an average

  February 26, 2009

• Orange Crushed: Suns Fall in La-La Land, Meet Lakers Again Sunday, Toronto Tonight

  www.nba.com Lamar Odom: "The Goods" played out of his skull in L.A. last night. For a precious few minutes  in the first quarter of last night's Suns/Lakers game in La-La Land, the Suns held their own against the NBA's best. No, it was better than that. They were rolling, running, gunning, roaring. They were taking advantage of someone else's defensive miscues for a (pleasant) change. And with literally only 2.5 first-teamers on the floor, they were doing the unthinkable: winnin

  February 27, 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 Go 0-4 on Road Trip, Losing in Final Minutes to Hated Spurs on Sunday

  nba.com Tony Parker owns the Suns this season.There's only bad news about the fading Phoenix Suns, whose chances of making the Western Conference playoffs get slimmer by the game. The sad thing is, the Suns could've won every one of the past four road games in Orlando, Miami, Houston, and San Antonio. They were in each game until the home team overpowered them in the fourth quarter. Which's what good teams do. They find a way to win. The Suns best showing came against the

  March 9, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Finally Beat a Good Team Again in a Nail-biter Monday Night

  www.nba.com Grant Hill has another monster game.It was the first time since March 1 that the Suns have beaten a good team. And the Phoenix Suns' 118-115 win over the Denver Nuggets gives them their longest winning streak of the year, 5-0. Unfortunately, they've had a longer losing streak, 0-6, that began just after that last victory over a good team, the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers. But let's not be a buzz-kill. Monday night's game was entertaining from beginnin

  March 24, 2009

• Keep the Good Times Rolling: Suns Need to Beat Jazz Tonight at US Airways Center

  www.nba.comUtah's Mehmet Okur Hey, Suns fans. Steve Nash and company have you exactly where they want you after its epic 118-115 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Only three games behind the Dallas Mavericks, all hopeful and stuff, and ready to Sharpie-in that eighth and final playoff position in the West. But beware. Need we remind you that this season, Phoenix usually falters following an unexpected win against a solid squad. (Remember this month's six-game losing streak afte

  March 25, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Still (Barely) Alive in the Playoff Race After 114-109 Win Over Tough Houston Rockets

  www.nba.com It was a battle of the behemoths at US Airways Center.The most lopsided statistic in the Phoenix Suns' 5-point victory over the powerhouse Houston Rockets Wednesday night was fast-break points. The Suns had 18 and the Rockets had 4. It was run-and-gun basketball as only the Suns can do it (when their heads are in the game). But the Suns also beat one of the best rebounding teams in basketball -- which features 7-foot-6 Yao Ming -- on the boards.

  April 2, 2009

• All-Star Schedule

  February 12, 2009

• Overtime Flies

  Suns, Mavs aren’t the same, but hey, it’s still Suns-Mavs

  January 8, 2009

• Tall Order

  October 30, 2008

• Phoenix Suns Win Impressively Over New Orleans, but Get Knocked Out of the Playoffs

  The Phoenix Suns were impressive against a good team Wednesday night, beating the New Orleans Hornets 105-100 on sterling play by their team leaders. www.nba.com Why's GM Steve Kerr smiling? The Suns didn't make the playoffs for the first time in the Nash era.But it doesn't matter. The Dallas Mavericks demolished the Utah Jazz 130-101 later in the evening and knocked Phoenix out of the playoffs. Remember, going into Wednesday night's games, the Suns had to win all five of their

  April 9, 2009

• Cactus League, Week 5

  Kissing up to the Boys in Blue

  March 20, 2008

• Letters From the Issue of Thursday, May 31, 2007

  May 31, 2007

• Year of the Goat

  This dastardly dodo dogs Phil "Goober" Gordon, lambastes Gilbert mayor Steve Berman, and assigns guilt for the Suns' Game 6 loss

  May 24, 2007

• Valley of the Suns

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

  May 5, 2005

• Phoenix Suns Finish Season With Second-Best Record of Any Team Not Making the Playoffs in NBA History

  www.nba.com For the first time in his career, Grant Hill played in all 82 regular-season games. He had 27 points against Golden State last night.The Suns set in the West on Wednesday evening. And they dropped below the horizion with a purple and orange glow, beating the Golden State Warriors in the last game of the season for both teams, 117-113. Phoenix wound up two games out of the Western Conference playoffs, behind the Utah Jazz. It was surely the last time this versio

  April 16, 2009

• 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: Inmate Dies, Nash Seeks Raise, and APS Sprays

  A female inmate at Perryville state prison died early Wednesday after being left outside in a holding cell for four hours in temperatures above 100 degrees. The inmate, Marcia Powell, 48, was serving a 27-month sentence for prostitution...Phoenix police have released the names of burglary suspects who caused a major crash on Interstate 10 yesterday morning, after going the wrong way on the freeway. The driver is Andrew Padilla, 18, and his passenger was Brittany Rose Doheny, 21. Both r

  May 21, 2009

• Foul Play: Remembering Horry/Nash as Fun 'n' Gun Phoenix Suns Open New Season in L.A.

  Robert Horry and Steve Nash scuffle after Horry's infamous decking of Nash on May 14, 2007. The play sent the Suns into a tailspin they're still trying to recover from.​ Suppose for a sec that Robert Horry, on the morning of May 14, 2007, had looked in the mirror and said, "Today, I'm not going to be a total dick." True to his nature, though, Horry decked Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash during the waning seconds of that night's Western Conference semifinal game four, almost certainl

  October 28, 2009

• Clockwork Orange

  October 29, 2009

• Steve Nash Helps Suns Squeak Out 109-107 Win Over the Los Angeles Clippers in Season Opener

  Steve Nash still has it, as the Suns player helped lift his team to victory over the L.A. Clippers.​Welcome back, Steve Nash.One of the countless questions hanging over the Phoenix Suns 2009-2010 season was whether or not the team's 35-year-old captain still had any hustle left despite his advancing age. Apparently he does, since the dude pretty much single-handedly carried the Suns to victory on Wednesday night in its season-opener against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. Nas

  October 29, 2009

• Nash Goes Off for 30, and the Suns Open a Grueling Road Trip with a Win over the Heat

  www.nba.com/suns Steve Nash: 35 is the new 25.​One of the big questions about the Phoenix Suns heading into this season was: Did 35-year-old Steve Nash have enough left in the tank to carry the Suns like the Nash of old? On Tuesday night, the former league MVP certainly had plenty in the tank as he sparked a crazy second-half rally in the Suns' 104-96 win over the Miami Heat in Miami. Nash was positively Nash-ian on Tuesday: He penetrated, he dashed, he dished, he launched three-pointe

  November 4, 2009

• Two Points, Well Taken

  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

• High-Flying Suns Wrap Up 4-1 East Coast Swing with 119-115 Win Against 76ers

  www.nba.com/sunsJason Richardson: Another high-scoring effort.​Even the most fanatical of Suns worshippers couldn't have imagined such an outcome. A weeklong five-game road trip to the East Coast, including bouts against powerhouses Boston and Orlando, wrapping up with four wins for the Suns? Believe it. The Phoenix Suns are for real and have to be considered viable contenders in the Western Conference after a come-from-behind, gutty 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Philly on Monday

  November 10, 2009

• Don't Drink the Orange Kool-Aid Yet. Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant Are Coming Right Up.

  Steve Nash and the Suns have found success in scrappiness.​Just two weeks ago, in our secret heart of hearts, we were ready to consign 35-year-old Steve Nash to the dustbin of history. Unless you're Steve Nash's mom, you were, too. Be honest. Then came that last-minute beauty shot in the regular-season opener against the Clippers, the 20-assist game against Golden State, the 30 points and four treys against Miami, and the massive 21 point/20 assist effort to lead the Suns back from what look

  November 11, 2009

• Phoenix Suns Stomped by Los Angeles Lakers in Lopsided Loss. Next Up: Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

  www.nba.comKobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers proved why they're the defending NBA champions in last night's defeat of the Phoenix Suns.​Welcome back to reality, Phoenix Suns fans. After your team amassed a surprising 8-1 record over the past two weeks (including spectacular wins over Boston and N'awlins), it's likely you thought that Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, and the rest were going to run roughshod over the rest of the NBA's elite during the 2009-10 season and grab aho

  November 13, 2009

• Suns Stay Perfect at Home with 101-100 Win Against Toronto

  www.nba.com/sunsAmar'e Stoudemire: No specs for free-throw attempts.​Against the Lakers, Amar'e Stoudemire looked like crap, scoring a measly eight points. On Sunday night against Toronto, the star atoned for his worthlessness in L.A. by playing one of his all-around best games of the season. Stoudemire scored 30 points and had eight rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Raptors 101-100 at US Airways Center.The win gives the Suns a 9-2 record, best in the NBA. It is their 13th straight home wi

  November 16, 2009