No "D" in D'Antoni?

Okay Suns fans, there has been a lot of talk about how weak the Suns are and how strong the Lakers are...it's late December, none of that matters.. What matters is DEFENSE! The Suns have the highest scoring offense in the league (yet again) so obviously when they lose it's not an offensive drought, it's a defensive absence. When they rebound, and swarm (like they did last night against the caveman) they will be much more successful.

Looking at the current standings the Suns are one game out in the west. San Antonio has played 5 more home games than Phoenix, the Lakers have played three more at home. The Suns are 12-6 on the road, the Spurs 5-6, and the Lakers 8-6... The Fredstrom has heard how San Antonio is the team to beat, etc. that may still be true but the Suns are playing bad basketball and are still in it. Barbosa hasn't been that great yet, Raja still hasn't found his jumper, Nash hasn't showed much scoring but we know he's capable, Amare shows up every other game, and sometimes only in the fourth quarter, and don't get the Fredstrom started on Diaw...

The Fredstrom isn't panicking. The Laker loss on Christmas might just be what the Suns needed to kick it up a notch. What do you think?

SUNS UPDATE

The Suns are currently 17-6. The Fredstrom is still not quite sure what they are capable of. The Suns have a very weak interior presence (except last night verse the Jazz), Miami and Minnesota both gave the Suns "the business." Fredstrom is very pleased with Skinner's performance so far. Fredstrom is not pleased with D'Antoni's use of the Suns minutes. It feels like the playoffs with that 7-man rotation. With the Suns up twenty with a few to go, he has the starting lineup in? Many teams have been attacking Steve Nash on the defensive end (especially since the Warriors loss). Fredstrom feels like D'Antoni doesn't adjust defensively very well. The Suns triple team Nash's man and they give up lay-ups. There has to be a happy medium. What do you think?

"Everything is Spiritual" Video Review

So the Fredstrom watched the "Everything is Spiritual" video that was blogged about below. It really was amazing. Rob Bell has to be the best speaker/teacher that the Fredstrom has ever heard. This video was definitely worth the price. The Fredstrom has already lent it out to two different people this week. If you or anyone you know doubts that there is a God, then check this out! Very interesting and presented in a non-preaching or non-confrontive way. Wanna borrow it? Let Fredstrom know...otherwise buy it yourself from www.everythingisspiritual.com (click on title). Wanna preview? Go to iTunes, click on podcasts, this DVD has five short previews you can watch. Enjoy...

Feed the hungry with your brain!

Visit freerice.com (click on title above) to help the United Nations feed the hungry. All you have to do is answer some vocabulary questions. They will give you one word and four possible synonyms. Pick the right one and corporations will donate 10 grains of rice. So far the Fredstrom has donated over 3,000 grains of rice! That's 300 words right baby! Comments? Let me know.. On this Thanksgiving remember not only all that we are thankful for, but remember those not as fortunate.

The Fredstrom is a Citizen!

You may have been hearing all the buzz about Planet Orange. The Fredstrom just registered as a member of Planet Orange. It is basically a Phoenix Suns "Myspace" venue. Not sure how much I'll use it but you can click on the blog title to see the Fredstrom's page.

How is life on Planet Orange?

The Fredstrom was hoping to have a better feel for where the Suns are, but he's still up in the air. His biggest concern is the interior defense and rebounding. Kurt Thomas is looking pretty good right now. Amare hitting peoples' elbows with his face not looking good. Amare committing stupid fouls and sitting on the bench- again not good. Raja's jumper was really looking bad but has improved- could it have got any worse? Leandro dropping 39- looked very good, Fredstrom is excited to see how he continues to contribute. Grant Hill looks nice..and of course the Matrix is workin!

San Antonio looks good, Houston will be very interesting this year, Dallas... well not totally sure yet.. It's going to take another 30 games or so to really get a good beat on the West. What do you think?

How Cool is Steve Nash? Click here to watch video!

If you like Steve Nash then you will love this video...check it out and post your comments.

Go Green or Go Home Pt. 5

Check out these sad stats...
An acre and a half of rainforest are destroyed every second.

70% of rivers are polluted, polluted meaning are not safe for human contact.

The World Health Org. estimates that last year 4.6 million people died from air pollution-related diseases.

50,000 different species of plants, animals, insects go extinct every year.

Here are some more amazing statistics...

Each day America produces enough trash to fill 63,000 dump trucks, line them up and that would go half way to the moon that’s 125,000 miles.

During the Holiday season we produce an extra 5 million tons of trash, 4 million of that is just shopping bags and wrapping paper.

Last year we dumped 14 billion pounds of waste into the oceans.

Can you guess this product?
We use 570 of it a second..
49 million a day
18 billion a year…
to produce this product we 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of tree pulp
$350 million just disposing of product and it doesn’t decompose

Diapers….

Let The Fredstrom know what you think...

This is a video of the tour that Rob Bell did last year. There are five previews available on iTunes podcast- Rob Bell. The Fredstrom ordered it and will watch it this week. He has a feeling it's going to be really good... The Fredstrom will let you know...

Things are Heating Up!

We are almost a week out from the start of the 2007-2008 NBA season. The Suns have started off the preseason 4-2, which doesn't mean much. However they have been playing really well together and have yet been aided by the services of Amare. Where will the Suns finish this year? I'm hoping that D'Antoni will use a deeper rotation giving the Suns fresher legs going into the postseason, even if that means not finishing first in the West. Dallas has a lot to prove, San Antonio is a year older, the East is least, no one really scares me. The Fredstrom really likes the Suns chances. What do you think?

Go Green or Go Home Pt. 4

TRANSPORTATION

If tires were properly inflated it would save America 4 million gallons of gas per day
Consolidate trips whenever possible.
Driving slower can save up to 5 miles/gallon.

FUELS OF THE FUTURE:
Research says that corn-based ethanol is not a good idea.
This would effect the globally poor because corn is one of the staple foods for them.
It raises the cost not only of corn but wheat and other grains.

Filling a 25 gallon SUV tank would require over 450 lbs of corn, which contains enough calories to feed one person for a year.
The amount of energy used for planting and harvesting corn is phenomenal. Row crops such as soy beans and corn produce major run-offs and require high amounts of fertilizer and pesticides.

They are the major contributors of nitrogen runoff which has caused the so called “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico an ocean area the size of New Jersey that has little or no oxygen to support life…this effects the fishing industry.

If we increase corn production this would contribute to habitat and ecosystem loss.
The amount of energy to turn corn into ethanol requires the burning of either coals or natural gas which counter-acts the reason for this energy saving idea.

What do you think?

Go Green or Go Home Pt. 3

FOOD

The average meal travels 1,200 miles from pasture to plate.
The closer your food comes from the less emissions and gas are required.

Go to Localharvest.com to find the nearest farmers market.

One acre of land can produce- 50,000 lbs of tomatoes, 40,000 lbs of potatoes, 30,000 lbs of carrots, or 250 lbs. of beef.

2,500 gallons of water are required to produce 1 lb. of beef and only 25 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 lb. of wheat.

Consider where your food comes while trying to consume less meat.

Even the Fredstrom is going to try to cut down on those burgers!

Go Green or Go Home Pt. 2

Check out these amazing recycling facts...

A ton of recycled paper saves:
17 trees
30 cubic yards of landfill space
7,000 gallons of water,
4,200 kilowatt hours of energy which is enough to heat a home for half a year,
390 gallons of oil
and prevents 60 lbs. Of air pollution.

If recycling rates increased from 30% to 60% we would save 315 million barrels of oil a year.

Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than making new aluminum

dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist…..cuts down on junk mail sent to you.

Visit lime.com and type in items that you want to discard. Did you know that those Crocs sandal shoes can be ground up and used for childrens' playground surfacing? Or the soles of running shoes for artificial grass filler? You type the item, they tell you what you can do with it!

ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART?

Go Green or Go Home???

I was listening to a Mars Hill Bible Church podcast and wanted to relay some interesting facts regarding our Earth...
REDUCE ENERGY COMSUMPTION

25% of your energy bill is from phantom power...meaning just having things plugged in and not using them uses up energy. Consider using a power strip and turning it off when you are not using those items.

If every American used Energy Star appliances, it would equate to taking 3 million cars off the road.

If every house in America switched out one incandescent bulb for a compact- fluorescent bulb, it would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the road.

Stay tuned for the next entry regarding recycling...there are some amazing stats you have to read to believe!

Off to a Great Start!

Week two is done and in the gradebooks... Fredstrom's class is doing a great job so far, and he is very proud of them. After some assessing, it has come to his attention that 18 of his 21 students are below grade level in reading...this shows how important it is for students to turn off the video games, computer (unless you are reading this!), or TV and open a book! Research consistently shows the more TV and video games a child watches or plays the lower their achievement levels! Starting September 10th, Arrowhead will be offering "READ IT", an opportunity every weekday morning for students to either read to or be read to by a teacher for 30 minutes before school starts. This is offered to all students and is FREE! It starts at 7:55 in the library. Hope to see you there!

Back to School!

School starts Monday and I would like to wish all those involved: parents, students, teachers, and administrators the best this year. For all of my regular blog suscribers...there will be a number of school-type posts, you can read them and see what we are up to in the fourth grade, or just delete them. Welcome to the 2007/2008 school year!

SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS!!

Okay, so KG is out of the picture, this has to make Boston the No. 1 Contenders in the East. KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce..that's three very good players...
On to baseball... tonight it is possible for three milestones to be broken. Tom Glavine could win his 300th game, A-Rod could hit homer #500, and Scarry Bonds could tie and or break Hank Aaron's homerun record.

I have some other things stirring up for discussions in the future. Do you wanna know what I think about other issues? Let me know...

What are the SUNS doing?

Okay Suns fans...I just have to ask you all what you think the Suns are doing, because I don't have much of a clue. They sell James Jones to the Blazers for $3 mil, and dump his $3 mil salary. That puts the Suns up $6mil. Then they sign Grant Hill for $1.8mil, great signing for the money. Suns still up $4.2mil. But yesterday they trade Kurt Thomas and 1st round draft picks for other draft picks? I guess defense doesn't seem to matter much to the Suns? So you lose Kurt's $8mil per. That puts the Suns up over $12mil? Is this Garnett money? What do you think?

Click here for funny video!

These fans must have been at a D-Backs game!

No KG...Suns Still Strong!

Well, there was a lot of rumors out there but at the end of the day nobody's going anywhere. The Suns were just one game from beating the Spurs and probably winning the championship. Amare will continue to get stronger, Nash will have another MVP -like season, Barbosa is still improving, Raja is a stud, and maybe Boris can show up this year. Just a few solid bench players and I like our chances. Also, I was thinking how it is unnecessary for the Suns to burn themselves up to win 60 games. D'Antoni should limit their regular season minutes, especially if he is going to play them so many minutes in the playoffs. What do you think?

KG in Amare out?

I guess we'll see real soon who is going to suit up for the Suns next year. If Steve Nash were a few years younger I think you keep Amare and continue trying. But because Nash only has a couple more years to win it all and KG give you that now. I hate to see Amare go, but for a ring I would. I think KG puts the Suns over the top. What do you think? Would you rather have KG or Amare?

Too Much Time On My Hands?

So I love those Western Whopper Burger King Commercials! Go to petmoustache.com and you can grow your own moustache. You can trim, comb, shave and even wax your stache! The best part is sending a singing telegram with your new lip wig! It's hilarious!

KG in? The Matrix out?

Here's the latest..

Steve Kerr has been talking with the Minnesota Timberwolves and admits that it would be really difficult to get KG. His salary for next year is $21 million dollars, the highest in the NBA. Shawn Marion is owed just over $16 million. Do you throw in Boris Diaw? Would Minnesota or anyone for that matter want him after his performance this year? Phoenix needs guards and I don't see Barbosa going anywhere. Is Amare untouchable? The Suns say so. There are so many different possiblitites. I think you only move Marion if you get KG, not Al Jefferson and draft picks. Remember game 5 with the Spurs? We aren't that far away from handing it to the Spurs. What do you think the Suns will do? I know I would love to see KG, Nash, Amare, Raja, and Kurt in the starting line-up next year!

Should We Get Excited about Sammy's 600?

Check out these homerun numbers.

Player Avg. Homeruns/Season

Sammy Sosa
1993-1996
and 2004-2005 ~29
1996-2003 ~51


Notes:
1997 36 Hr
1998 66 Hr
That's quite the increase! Sammy added over 35 pounds later in his career also.

Barry Bonds
1990-1999 ~36
2000-2003 ~52

Notes:
49 in 2000
73 in 2001
Barry added over 40 pounds of muscle after the age of 35?
Both his head size and shoe size increased during this time as well?

Mark McGwire
1987-1994* ~36
1995-2000 ~53
*1994 played 47 games

It's interesting to see these stats. More interesting is that major league baseball has nothing..no proof of anything...nobody has failed a steroid test? Come on!

Consider that there are only 20 players to hit 500 or more. 3 are still active and 5 will do it in 2007 alone! What do you think about that?

Good News!!

Anyone can now make comments, no longer do you need a google account! Please make sure you leave your name!

Father's Day

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you dads out there (especially mine) for all that you do. There are so many "appreciation" days out there. Mothers, teachers, bosses, secretaries, etc. Let's not show our appreciation only on that designated day, but much more often. Happy Father's Day!

The NBA and the Most Ugly Dynasty?

So the ugliest playoff series has now come to an end. I'm so glad that I don't have to hear Bruce "The Grabber" Bowen or Manu "Flop-o-saurus Rex" Ginobili's name anymore. I don't understand why in the world there is so much wasted effort to categorize the Spurs as a dynasty? Who cares? The Spurs were as exciting to watch as the Anaheim Ducks... no wait more like the L.A. Sparks (WNBA). I guess I'm glad San Antonio swept, that way we don't have to watch anymore of that ugly basketball. Now we can wait and see the big off-season moves. Agree...Disagree?

Keep Your Comments To Everyone

Apparently it is necessary to have a google account in order to make a post. It is free and I wish you would take the time (less than 1 minute) so I can hear your thoughts... hope to see you soon....

Subscribe Me

Okay kiddos...this is really cool.

By entering your email in the section to the right you can receive an email with new blog posts from my blog. You no longer need to find my blog, it can come to you! This service is provided by Feedblitz.com (again free), it sends out scouts to see if I have posted a new blog, and will email any subscribers! Cool huh? Any questions? Let me know...

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Alright Coach Bill...
Go to Blogger.com and follow the easy step-by-step instructions. Also there is a really cool website named bloglines.com that will allow you to subscribe (Free) to blogs and organize all of them together. Blogger.com will allow others to leave comments, you could go to Tumblr.com (no e), which is a real simple blog server that doesn't allow comments. Questions? Let me know...

Fredstrom's First Blog

This is my first experiment with blogging...I have yet to come up with a theme or topic. Topics might include: NBA, Modern Art, Music, Movies, Education, Counseling, Aviation, Copper Square, Relationships, Current Events, etc. I would love to read your comments! Stay tuned...