Suns Next Mission: Play Like You Have Some Pride!

The setting Suns have a big problem. They can't beat a quality team, they can't even win a home game. They play with zero intensity, it's ridiculous. The Suns need to either go all out or make changes now so that the Suns fans don't have to watch this sinking ship all season!

In going with the "Mission" theme of Planet Orange, the Fredstrom has put together a list of suggested missions for the Sunsets.

Mission: Either Open That Closed Window and Blast Through it Or Make Some Changes!

Mission: Play Defense.

Mission: Win a Home Game.

Mission: Go Underneath the Pick and Roll.

Mission: Shut Amare's mouth.

Mission: Be one of the Top 8 Western Conference Teams.

Mission: Don't give the Ball Away 40 times per game.

Mission: Get an Offensive Rebound once in awhile.

Mission: Don't Give Up So Many Second Chance Points.

Mission: Run! 

Mission: Don't Play Steve Nash for the entire 3rd Quarter.

Mission: Don't Put Your Bench In With 1 Minute To Go In The Quarter.

If these missions fail then you have to trade Amare or fire Porter.  The Fredstrom can't believe that if the Suns win 30 games this year that Porter will keep his job and he can't believe that Amare would be happy staying with an imploding planet.  Get something for Amare while you still can.  Shoot maybe even trade Steve Nash while you still can... but who can you get for them?  What would you do?

FREDSTROM'S SUNS/LAKERS PREDICTION

The Fredstrom will make this short and sweet...Suns by 5 Thursday night!

Here's why:

1. Planet Orange will be one fired up biosphere! Gotta love that home court advantage.

2. Yes, the Fredstrom knows that the Lakers are the best team in basketball but the Big Cactus will be fueled up for this one.

3. The Fredstrom likes Matt Barnes on Kobe instead of Raja.

4. The Suns are going on 3 days rest. Lakers-2. That's good for the Suns old legs.

5. Suns are at home...Lakers score 10 less pts. per game on the road.

6. The Lakers are good but they have played 6 home games and only 2 on the road so far. Suns-5.

7. Considering the Suns have missed LB for 3 games, Nash for 1, Shaq for 1, and Barnes for 2, they have managed pretty well this year.

8. And most importantly, The Fredstrom hates the Lakers.

Here's a sneak peek of Thursday night!  What are your predictions?

Suns: Good Record Despite the Sloppy Style

The Fredstrom is being spurred on to keep up with the Suns. Much like the San Antonio Spurs the Fredstrom is finding himself behind, not out with an ankle injury, but out with the cold and his non-stop busy lifestyle! By the way, have you all written your Get Well letters to the Spurs? "Hey Tony! You don't have to play that grabbing defense on that guy! He's just trying to help you to the locker room!"

If you checked the comments from the last post the Fredstrom predicted the Suns to be .500 after 12-14 games.  Obviously the Fredstrom was off a bit, their record looks good but their playmaking is quite the opposite.  It's incredible to think that the Suns have the 2nd highest scoring offense in the league and give the ball away 34 times per game! Okay it's actually 17 per and they only force 12. Think about the other team starting the game off with 5 straight possessions, not good.  The Suns average margin of victory is just over 4pts. per game, think of the margin if they had just 5 less turnovers a game? 9-10 points?

Bad news is that the Suns still aren't playing great defense (27th in the league).  Is this still a learning period?  Tomorrow night's game against the Rockets should be a good early test of what the Suns are really made of.

Good news: Barbosa is heating up, LB took the Suns on his wobbling shoulders and won that game for them against the Grizz. Boris played with an intensity and a focus that Planet Orange has been begging for.  Can the Suns get all cylinders running at the same time and cut down on the turnovers?  If so the Suns look like they could be among the league's elite, if not, welcome to Planet Mediocre- Home of the Early Playoff Exit and marking the close of the Suns' small window: (

The Fredstrom guesses that a congratulations is in order for the Arizona Cardinals for their "big" win Monday night.  The 49ers aren't that good, that game shouldn't have been that close, the Cards shouldn't have had 17 penalties in the final 20 minutes, but that's what happened.  Is this the Cardinals shaking their losing past?  Can you believe in this year's Cardinals?  Are they a true contender?  The Fredstrom would've been convinced had they whipped the Niners back to their century of origin, but they didn't.  Until the Cards handle their bidness the Fredstrom won't be a believer.  Is Kurt Warner MVP bound?  The Fredstrom is close to believing that one.

The blog has added ESPN power rankings and stand NBA/NFL standings.  Check in to see new polls, links, etc.  AND GET YOUR COMMENT ON!

The Fredstrom is Happy Again!

Yes it was the first game of the regular season, and yes Womanu was hurt and didn't play, BUT the Suns went into San Antonio and gave the Spurs the business!  Duncan and Parker had nearly perfect games and Planet Spuranus still came up short.  The Suns defense wasn't that great (again) but The Fredstrom spoke with Coach Porter and he says that he will make these adjustments: 1)Going under the screen instead of following Parker around it allowing him to further dissect the Suns "D" drawing fouls, etc. 2) Letting Tim Duncan shoot outside instead of taking it to the rack again drawing weak fouls, 3)Making someone else shoot the ball Duncan and Parker combined for 45 shots making 26 of them, etc.

The Suns on the other hand hit Coach Mtn. Man in the beard with a balanced attack. Five players scored in double figures and the Suns bench outscored the Spurs bench 42-24. The Suns looked good, they out-rebounded the Spurs (just barely), were able to get some big stops, were able to run and hit some big shots down the stretch, and most importantly were able to run an effective pick and roll completely rendering the Spurs helpless. By the way Pop, Hack-a-Shaq is Whack!  It may be within the rules but if The Fredstrom were a Spurs fan he would be pretty upset that he paid good money to watch his team fouling continuously turning what could be a fun game into a free throw shooting exhibition. 

Tonight the Suns face another tough Western Conference team-The Hornets. The Fredstrom looks forward to the Suns home opener hoping to see another big victory, with BIG "D" and FAST "O". Prediction: Suns 107 Hornets 104.

The Fredstrom Isn't Happy!

Not to take anything away from the Cardinals, but the fact that they are scoring more points than the Suns is driving the Fredstrom nuts!

72 total points against the Denver Nuggets-a team that is reminiscent of the Suns defense of past years!  13 pts in a quarter?  The Fredstrom knows that this is preseason, he knows that Amare and Leandro didn't play, and yes the game was outside, but there didn't appear to be any dust devils or monsoons? However, Shaq did say it was colder than a bleeper bleeper!

This year is going be very different if the Suns are going to play old school New York Knicks or Detroit Pistons circa The Bad Boy days basketball.  If the Fredstrom wanted to see 70pt. games he would go see the Phoenix Mercury.  Coach Terry Porter said that the Suns can run but only when they get a rebound, not taking it out of the hoop after a made basket?  Why can't the Suns run and just play better defense with an increased focus on rebounding?  

Don't subject the Suns fans to this sloppy, slow, boring type of basketball...Please!  Coach Porter also wants the Suns to be patient on offense?  Well that has led the Suns to two things: Launching up last second shots trying to avoid shot clock violations and a lousy 31% field goal percentage!  The Fredstrom recommends that the Suns take the first available open shot- not this :27 secs or less offense!

Congrats to the Arizona Cardinals for a big win over the Cowboys!  That game reminded the Fredstrom a D-Backs' 9th inning where the closer comes in and gives the lead away with four straight walks.  You sit there and think how much worse can it get?  Being offsides by 40+ yards?  Just enough of a penalty to give the Cowboys those extra five yards allowing the ball to sneak over the crossbar!  It was classic Cardinals football.  Luckily the defense was able to take the game into their own hands, allowing 3 and out, breaking Tony Simpson's finger, then blocking a punt and rolling into the end zone. Amazing game... Hey T-O... looks like you were the 3rd best receiver on Sunday, but you did a good job yelling at your teammates on the sideline.   The Fredstrom wonders how long it will take before T-O has a media meltdown?

Suns Start Wednesday-NBA Preview

The Suns play their first home preseason game this Wednesday and it has the Fredstrom thinking. Where will the Suns finish in the West? Here's the Fredstrom's power rankings for the top 8 seeds in the Western Conference.

#1 New Orleans Hornets- Chris Paul keeps getting better and better. David West will again have an all-star season and watch out for James Posey. He has been on two of the last 3 championship teams. He will help spread the floor along with Peja allowing Paul, West, and Chandler to dissect the inside. They will be a force!

#2 L.A. Lakers- Two words: Kobe Factor. Two keys to the Lakers improving:  Phil Jackson shaving the goat-tee and they will get Bynum back. Even though Gasol is tissue-soft, he still poses match up problems for other Western Conference contenders. The X factor for the Lakers will be the consistency of the Euros. Will they show up strong or will they fall, flop, and cry their way to Phil's bench?

#3 Utah Jazz- Deron Williams is a stud. Carlos Boozer also poses match up problems for many. Utah's biggest strength is the Sloan Factor. Jerry Sloan has a system that gets his guys to work and work hard, especially on the defensive end. If Okur can play anything like he did two years ago Utah will secure the 3 spot in the West.

#4 Phoenix Suns- The Suns may be old but they have made some positive moves this summer. A new coach with a defensive past... a back up point guard, signing Mike Barnes a scrappy defensive player and not having to work in the Big Saguaro mid-season should make the Suns a better team than last year. Remember D'Antoni running the Suns 7 into the ground? The Fredstrom has to believe that Terry Porter won't do the same allowing the Suns to have more legs for the home stretch and more importantly the playoffs.

#5 Houston Rockets- Picking up Ron Artest this summer can only make them better. If Yao and T-Mac can stay healthy look for the Rockets to lay some exhaust on the West.

#6 San Antonio Spurs- Speaking of coaches facial hair, have you seen Pops beard? The Fredstrom has never seen a baby with such a huge beard! Someone find that baby a Quattro! Experience, Experience, Experience... however Manu's ankle complications will hurt the Spurs. Timmy is a year older but is still effective and Tony Longoria will still be a Suns killer. Look for the Spurs to play possum once again until their rodeo trip is over, then they will turn it on. The Fredstrom thinks the Spurs early exit in last year's playoffs was a preview of their decline. Unfortunately it might have been the Suns preview as well.

#7 Dallas Mavericks- The Mavs will make the playoffs because they have talent. Jason Kidd, Dirk, Howard (what happened to that guy?) and Terry should be able to make the 7 spot in the West...and not any higher. Last year we saw adding Jason Kidd doesn't equate to winning in the playoffs.

#8 Portland Trailblazers- Greg Oden seems to be cursed and may only play 75% of this season, but the Blazers have some really nice and youthful pieces in place. The Fredstrom can't put an unstable, back-biting Nuggets or a Brandless Clippers, or a B. Diddyless Warriors, the Sacramento Queens, or an inexperienced Thunder ahead of the Blazers.

It looks like our D-Backs finished 2nd in the West, and definitely won't win the World Series! They didn't win a 100 or more games or even break the 90's, so it looks like the polls were mostly wrong. Don't they get anything for that huge number of strike outs?

  

Looks like the Cubs may have to wait another 100years...wow that was bad! 

The Cardinals beat up on an undefeated Bills team to improve to 3-2, but the Cowboys are coming!  Do the Cards have a chance?

New polls posted today including where the Suns will finish in the West.

When Do the Suns Start?

Not a good weekend to be an Arizona sports fan.

D-Backs finally get some runs but it's too little way late! When they win (rarely) the Dodgers match, when they lose, the Dodgers again match. The D-Backs are 8-10 in September averaging 3.1 runs per game. Their batting .249 for the year, 2nd worst in the NL. The bullpen's ERA for the month-6.24.  During the last 10 games the D-Back starters have a 1.45 ERA.

The Sun Devils get the assist in their loss against Georgia. Turning the ball over, just not playing competitively, where's the passion? That UNLV game really hurt! The Fredstrom doesn't expect the Devils to win that game, but just don't play so sloppy! MAKE A TACKLE PLEASE! The picture above shows how other teams fly and the Devils apparently swim?
Cardinals decide to punt being down 7 with 2:39 left in the 4th quarter; relying on their defense to get the ball back. On the road you have to go for it on 4th and 4. Let's hope the Cardinals can steal one against Brett AARP next week in New York. It's hard to not get greedy and want to win every game, but the Cards need to play up to their potential.  

What else is going on?  Chime in.

The Fredstrom is Back!

Okay blog fans, it has been awhile! Since the Fredstrom last blogged the Olympics have come to an end with the good ole United States on top in the medal count. Your votes were correct as the Redeem Team took the GOLD. But did you vote the D-Backs winning the West? Our little D-Backs have strapped their fans in for a roller coaster pennant race. The Dodgers lost 8 in a row and remain right on the D-Backs heels. The Fredstrom still sees the D-Backs blowing it down the stretch with either the Joe Torre's or the Dark-Horse Rockies taking the West...the Juiceman says so!

The NFL starts Thursday...it would be fun if Arizona had a team that the Fredstrom could blog about! The Fredstrom's favorite headline so far would be Chad Johnson legally changing his last name to "Ocho Cinco" so that he could put this phrase on the back of his jersey!
College football started as well...hopefully the Squirrel can come out of his "fantasy" hole to come play in the Fredstrom's blog. The Fredstrom went to his first college football game last Saturday night: ASU vs. NAU...great first half...not much action after that...ASU better hope that Rudy doesn't go down or you can put a fork in them! GO DEVILS!Give the Fredstrom your comments on the D-Backs, NFL or College Football!

The Fredstrom's Got Gadgets!

Well blog fans, the Fredstrom has been searching for ways to make the blog more interactive and updated.  First it was pictures, then YouTube videos embedded, then the polls, and now-GADGETS!  Gadgets are small interactive windows that you can use/watch/play without leaving the blog. Wanting to know the D-backs miniscule lead in the NL West? Wanna current medal count of the Chinese Dog and Pony show? Wanna see the Chuck Norris fact of the day?  Just go to the blog and there they are either in the right margin or all the way to the bottom...no more searching mlb.com or looking for the current medal count....GO TO THE BLOG!  More to come! Suggestions? Comments?

Steve Nash and Baron Davis: Step-Brothers Spoof

The Fredstrom has searched high and low for the comedy of the summer only to find out that his good friend Steve Nash has already filmed it.  See this hilarious 2 min. trailer of Steve and Baron's upcoming blockbuster.

The outfits, the dance off, and the tandem biking earn this sweet little gem 10 Picasso's!

The Fredstrom Posting Politics?

The following article was sent to the Fredstrom via email from eeeelicious.  Interesting...

The Squirrel reports that Letterman was not the creator of this article, therefore Mr. Late Show is gone! Apparently the Fredstrom needs a research team to test the validity of his posts! Viva la Squirrel!
"As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been,
but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems
to hit the mark.

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll
data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source,
right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't
have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end
up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and
they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood
and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The
media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They
offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to
allow a murderer like O. J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill
his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the
bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country.
There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist
attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'"

Sometimes it's good to get a fresh perspective...

Well? What did you think? Comment below...

The D-Backs are Dunn!

With or without Adam Dunn the D-Backs are in serious trouble.  Both Muchacho sucio and the Fredstrom think the D-Backs are not going to hold off the Dodgers and will fall out of the playoff picture. Adding a .233 hitter isn't going to do much, especially when you can't protect him in the line up. The D-Backs are hitting .251 as a team (26th in MLB, Dodgers are 21st). Not only that the Dodgers are 1st in ERA(3.65) with the D-backs 11th(3.97).  Did the Fredstrom mention that Manny is batting .459, has 4 homers and 11 RBI's for the Dodgers in just 9 games?

Do you think Dunn will make a difference? Don't forget to vote on the World Series winner.

Holy Amazing Movie Batman!

Wow! Where does the Fredstrom start? Let's start with the acting... Heath Ledger was incredible!  He had so many little nuances, probably improv, that made his character so intriguing.  Talk about CRAZY dark and CRAZY evil.  Watching this movie knowing that Heath has past was eerie... it felt just plain weird. Christian Bale was just vanilla for the Fredstrom, his Batman voice is a little awkward. However, Batman has some pretty cool toys in this flick.  The Fredstrom wants Batman's little motorbike!

Morgan Freeman and Michael Cane were both great supporting characters to our masked hero.

Rivaling Ledger, only to later join him was Aaron Eckhart-playing Harvey Dent.  Just in case you haven't seen the movie the Fredstrom won't spoil Dent's misfortune.

Dark Knight was also amazing for these reasons: well developed plot, incredible score by Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Rain Man, and many others) and amazing special effects, not computer generated explosions or car wrecks, real explosions.  Not sure the city of Chicago will ever be the same.

For all these reasons the Dark Knight earns a whopping 9 Picasso's...that's the most so far!

What Does Steve Nash Do in His Spare Time?

The Fredstrom donned his orange shoes and shirt today making him think about the Suns, most of all... He wondered what his pal Steve Nash was up to? So the Fredstrom emailed Steve and he responded with this...

Hey Fredstrom,
Good to hear from you...I was wondering why you haven't been returning any of my calls? Glad you are back in town let's do lunch next week... by the way check out what I've been up to this summer. I've embeded a couple of youtube videos on this email...put them on your amazing blog.

Your admirer,

MVSteve

So blog fans, here are those videos...

In case you were wondering...

ibeatyou ( http://www.ibeatyou.com ) was started by a group of very competitive friends, including Baron Davis from the Golden State Warriors, Cash Warren and Abdul Khan. Ibeatyouvids is ibeatyou's YouTube channel, where we will be showcasing some of our competitions. To see the rest, you can go to http://www.ibeatyou.com . The site is a site for people to compete with each other online in anything that people are good at! Members upload their clips in video, picture or text format and other members vote to decide the winner.

Movie of the Summer: Wall-E

The Fredstrom knows that Batman is coming out a week from tomorrow, but so far the movie of the summer is easily Wall-E.  Pixar's latest movie is genius. Wall-E's job is to compact the trash on Earth, stacking them into piles that rival the tallest skyscrapers.  Wall-E and his pet cockroach are the sole occupants of Earth- all humans are currently living in a giant cruise-like spaceship.  They are super lazy  and media dependent, so much so that they make Jabba the Hutt look like a decathlete! A scout spaceship sends out a robot looking for life on Earth.  Once a small sprout is found and returned to the ship. The human captain is now faced with a difficult decision.

There are so many thought provoking ideas along with many laughs for both children and adults.  The Fredstrom wants to encourage the young and old alike to check out this charming movie.  Also, you know how Pixar usually has a short movie before their feature presentation?This one is hilarious...The Fredstrom is wishing that they make this movie-short into a feature length film.  This film is every bit as good as Nemo and almost as good as Toy Story.

So how many Picasso's does this fine little film deserve? 8-EASILY...

The Fredstrom also got a chance to see Will Smith in his new superhero movie Hancock.

It wasn't too bad, better than the Fredstrom expected, but he didn't expect too much.  It wasn't as good as Hulk or Ironman.  Action-check, humor-check, Will Smith-check, Charlize Theron-check. You know the plot: a superhero bum, rude, drunk, and not-so-popular with the people.  An image consultant (Jason Bateman) takes Hancock on as a client in hopes to reconcile his image.  Suffering from amnesia, Hancock struggles to find who he is and where he comes from.  He ends up finding the only other person like him, you'll be surprised when you find out who it is. This decent little movie earns a cool 5 Picasso's.  Maybe a rental down the road?

Not In Fredstrom's Most Wanted

After watching the D-Backs, mostly Mark Reynolds, hand it to the Brew Crew, The Fredstrom found himself at a late night movie- Wanted.  Who wouldn't want to see Angelina Jolie, fast cars, guns, and action scenes?  Well the Fredstrom did get to see some of that but was left a bit disappointed with curving bullets and a little kooky plot.  The Fredstrom won't ruin any details but there were a few parts that he had to say, "Come on! Really?" However, it is every regular nice guys wish to tell off their boss, get picked up by some hot chick, given a gun, and handed over $3million.  The Fredstrom won't be crossing his fingers for any of these shenanigans to head towards Arrowhead!
The Fredstrom does enjoy plots that bring something a little different to the screen and Wanted did do that. There were some really cool action scenes and a plot twist that created a dramatic ending.  This action packed film earns a cool 6 Picasso's still yielding to Iron Man and the Hulk.

Coming soon: Wall-E and Hancock.

The Fredstrom Gets Smart, But Not Too Smart!

After a couple of bombs the Fredstrom has wised up. With a busy week of seeing movies the Fredstrom squeezed in one more- Get Smart...how appropriate!  If you like Steve Carrell then you will really like this movie.  The Fredstrom was hoping that Terry Crews and The Rock had bigger parts in this flick.  Nonetheless Hathaway and Carrell delivery a cute performance leaving the audience with a slight grin.  This wasn't the best movie but it was good.  The Fredstrom wouldn't go see it again in the theater or rent it again but was entertained.

This dandy little remake of a classic deserves 6 Picasso's. 

Coming out this week: Wanted and Wall-E... The Fredstrom hears that Wall-E will be the movie of the summer.

The Fredstrom Wishes He Didn't Mess With the Zohan

Another strike out for the "so called" summer comedies.  Adam Sandler must have been drinking the same thing as Mike Meyers.  What happened to these guys?  What happened to the days of Austin Powers or Happy Gilmore?  Does every punch line have to have a phallic reference?  Please be more creative than that.  The Fredstrom can't think that even teenage girls (who laugh at anything) would even find the Zohan funny.  Come to think of it, the Fredstrom isn't even sure why this loserish movie earns 3 Picasso's but it does.  Maybe there was a few funny parts, the Fredstrom doesn't even remember. Did you hate the Zohan as much as the Fredstrom did?

On the horizon for the Fredstrom in the summer comedy dept. will be Get Smart, Kung Fu Panda, Step-Brothers, and Tropic Thunder. Hopefully Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, and Jack Black can save the summer comedy.

3 Strikes for the Unloved Guru!

Mike Myers hasn't come out with a movie in a while and he should have waited a lot longer! One would think he has had a lot of time to think of some hilarious material not this garbage! What a horrible movie!  Every other line was a far-from-funny innuendo, leaving the Fredstrom with a "Are you kidding? When is this going to be funny?"

Mike Myers plays the Guru Pitka, a love and relationship expert, is called upon to help a hockey player get back with his wife so that the Toronto Maple Leafs can win the Stanley Cup.  The Guru endorses a number of ridiculous acronyms and sayings including, "Intimacy means In to me I see."

For the few, and the Fredstrom means FEW funny parts, The Love Guru earns a whopping 3 Picasso's.  Mr. Myers- Step your game up! 

Agree? Disagree? Get your post on?

Is the Blur and/or the Toast headed out?

Well here we are again Suns fans. Another disappointing year followed by a summer of renewed hope that our beloved organization will make the offseason moves necessary to bring Nash and Co. over the top

While few would argue the notion that some moves need to be made for the Suns to truly make their championship run, questions remain regarding who should be moved and for what price. At the forefront of this discussion are our own Brazilian Blur (Leandro Barbosa) and French Toast (Boris Diaw).

Cited by ESPN, Realgm.com, and the Arizona Republic, both players seem to be on the trading block for picks in this years draft and/or additional players. In this post, I hope to brake down the three different trade proposals that are seem to currently be on the table and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 angry squirrels (1 = acquiring Stephon Marbury, 5 = trading Vin Baker for a first round pick).

TRADE PROPOSAL #1
Teams Involved: Phoenix Suns / Portland Trailblazers

Portland Gets:
Leandro Barbosa

Phoenix Gets:
Martell Webster
Player to be named
2008 Draft Pick (1^st Rd, Pick 13)

Conclusion:
While Martell Webster did have to miss the last seven games of the season due to an irregular heartbeat, he’s young (21), tall (6’7’’), a good rebounder and defender, accurate from downtown (39%), and in the last year of his contract. While Leandro Barbosa is big on potential, he has been that way for the past 4 years. His sloppy defense and reckless playmaking, coupled with the departure of father figure/security blanket Dan D’Antoni, means that this squirrel gives this trade a 4 angry squirrel green light.

TRADE PROPOSAL #2
Teams Involved: Phoenix Suns / New York Knicks

New York Gets:
Leandro Barbosa

Phoenix Gets:
Player(s) to be named
2008 Draft Pick (1^st Rd, Pick 6)

Conclusion:
While the 6^th pick in this years draft is substantially better than the 13^th, the squirrel thinks the profitability of this trade for the Suns really depends on the player(s) to be named. Considering the fact that all of the players under contract in New York are either a) overpayed or b) a thug (with the possible exception of David Lee), I’m not sure the pick fully offsets what else the trade may bring. Still, the 6^th pick in the draft is worth the risk. Result, a 3 angry squirrel green light (5 angry squirrels if they throw-in David Lee).

TRADE PROPOSAL #3
Teams Involved: Phoenix Suns / Toronto Raptors

Toronto Gets:
Boris Diaw

Phoenix Gets:
T.J. Ford
2008 Draft Pick (1^st Rd, Pick 17)

Conclusion:
Are you kidding, a competent backup point guard the Suns have been lacking AND an additional first round draft pick for Boris freaking Diaw!? Face it, if Diaw isn’t the focal point of the offense, the chances of him mailing-in any given game is about 75%. (including playoffs) If there is a first round pick and a semi-competent NBA player offered in a trade for Boris Diaw, you take it… immediately. Automatic 5 angry squirrels.

IN SUMMARY:
If this squirrel has his way, the Suns would now be without Diaw and Barbosa in exchange for the 13^th, 15^th, and 17^th pick in the draft (plus Ford, Webster, and PTBN). According to mock drafts, that means that the Suns have a reasonable chance to a) bundle two picks into trading up for a better pick, or b) obtaining players like Brandon Rush, Donte’ Green, Roy Hibbert, or DeAndre Jordan. Couple that with lessening their luxury tax penalty by investing in less-expensive rookie contracts, the squirrel believes that these trades need to get done!

Now that the squirrel has stated his opinion, he wants to hear yours! What do you think about the possible departure of Diaw and/or Barbosa?

Celtics Win the NBA Championship With a Lack of Class

While the Fredstrom is glad for the Celtics not only for beating the Lakers, but for absolutely destroying them in game 6!  However the Fredstrom was very distracted by the Celtic celebrating antics, finding them extremely distasteful...call him old fashioned.  

1. With just over 2 mins. to go Doc Rivers pulls out the Big 3.  Instead of accepting their applause and standing on the sidelines, KG and company take about a minute to hug the players substituting in for them on the floor.  

2. With about a minute to go, Eddie House takes a walk to the half court line in between free throws.

3. There was a lot of pre-celebrating, yes they were up by 78 points, but winning with a little grace would be nice...

4. The one that takes the cake is the dumping of Gatorade all over the floor with 30 seconds to go in the game.  Doc just calls a time out so they can get it all cleaned up... couldn't Pierce have waited?

5. Not sure if you heard all the bleeping out that ABC had to do with KG and company dropping F-Bombs on the sidelines.

6. Don't forget KG's interview at the end where he says, "This is for all the people in Chicago!"  What's that all about?  You play for Boston genius!  Then he started speaking Elvish..where is Orlando Bloom to interpret?  The Fredstrom and company couldn't understand what he was saying!

The Fredstrom shouldn't be too surprised...this is how the East Coast does it.  What did you think of the end of game 6? The series?

The Incredible Hulk Has Anger Issues!

The Green Monster was the one hitting homeruns this weekend.  The Incredible Hulk made a strong debut on the big screen.  Lou Ferrigno makes a cameo as well as Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark from Stark Industries (see Iron Man).  The ending sets itself up nicely for a sequel...the question is, will the sequel include both the Hulk and Iron Man?  There were many, and the Fredstrom means MANY amazing action scenes through the last hour or so.  This may ruffle some feathers, but the Fredstrom thinks the special effects in Hulk were far above Iron Man. The CGI in this movie put the "Incredible" in Incredible Hulk. The Fredstrom doesn't think that even Iron Man would want to run into the Hulk in a dark alley.  Simply said, "It was very cool."

This tasty little movie earns a cool 7 Picasso's.  

Sorry Hulk, don't be angry...your movie was pretty good!

P.S. -If the Fredstrom was Phil Jackson, he would have the Lakers watch the Hulk movie if they want a chance at winning game 6 in Boston. Get angry you pansies!  The Lakers look like a softer version of the Suns.

The Happening Not Happening...

ATTENTION ALL HOMEOWNERS!  Do not pull your weeds, mow your grass, or do any pruning! Call off your landscaper!  Have the PGA Tour cease from making divots!  Shut down Wimbeldon!  The plants are fighting back by releasing a toxic chemical in the air that when breathed in causes you to kill yourself.  

Not kidding that's the plot for M. Fright Shyamalan's new movie The Happening.  If you saw Lady in the Water and didn't like it, then you would really dislike this movie. The Fredstrom awards this disappointing movie 2 Picasso's. One for M. Night's movie cred and the other for the few scary parts that the Fredstrom paid for.